Removal of Single Sex Sessions at Harrogate Turkish Baths

I’ve filled it in. We all should. Might make them think again.

This is the trouble with online surveys though. There's nothing to be gained by filling this in and pretending to live locally; the MNStalking Committee will be on this and will just send in millions of replies about millions living in Harrogate desperate to see single sex sessions ended.

This needed to be handed, on paper, to people on entry at the door over a period of a couple of weeks, where the system cannot be played for politics and this needs to be done alongside a proper equality impact assessment.

Just as an aside, if a parent is raising a 'theybie' and they fill in a form for DC which asks for gender assigned at birth, I wonder what they put?

Iirc the baths at the Paris mosque stopped the male only sessions and it is women only now.

Hah ha!
Ive filled in the form in support of you OP, dont live anywhere near Harrogate but strangely we are on hols there this coming week,, the website for the baths makes it look amazing, so jealous

increase spotlight on equality and balance

What they're actually saying is:

"We don't want all those annoying Jewish and Muslim women to attend."

NB: for the avoidance of doubt I don't think any religiously observant woman is "annoying." I am satirising the openness, balance and equality of the Harrogate Council's thinking.

Have filled in and passed on to others.
Do they even realise Muslim women wouldn’t be able to go anymore, along with lots of other religious? It’s bonkers

They wouldn't be able to develop it, as it's a listed building. But then who knows. The council spend loads of money on strange projects and sell all sorts of stuff off including their own buildings.

I'm not sure about the property developers TBH - it's the most historically complete/restored Victorian spa in the UK AFAIK. I can imagine the uproar in the middle class spa town if it were to close!

I've been to both the mixed and single sex sessions there and see absolutely no need to change it. They have plenty of sessions available for just men, just women and mixed sex. I will admit, I was younger and somewhat shocked at the number of hairy muffs on display when I first went but appreciated that there are so few spaces like this where women can just 'be' and relax. It was wonderful.

I shall be completing that questionnaire and sharing it, how disgraceful of them to even suggest this!

The proposal would be regressive and reduce choice: little to do with equality or inclusivity and everything to do with appeasement.

Has the feel of creating an excuse to close the place down completely. Artificially reduce demand, and then in a years time go "Oh dear, no one is using this facility. Better close it".

Are the baths in an area that property developers can be seem self abusing over ?

I have filled this in, and shared it with DD and DiL .

Filled it in even though I'm in London. I gave them a right telling off about the " assigned at birth" bollocks.

It's like 2 different people wrote the two halves of the survey. Lots of opportunity to say we need single sex and mixed sex sessions on the first page then lots of gender bollocks on the second page.

@floisme has nailed it

I filled it in. The last question on the survey is whether my gender identity matches the gender I was assigned at birth. Ffs.

Completed. Raaaar with the question on “gender” rather than sex & “assigned at birth”

The joy of swimming naked in the cold plunge pool is wonderful (though I have noticed over the years that more women wear costumes - not sure why)

For what it's worth I would not want to be naked in front of other women or see other naked women.

In additional to this being excluding to some women who are Muslim, also Orthodox Jewish women, Jehovah's Witness women, traveller women, women with Autism, all people who may be unable to access a mixed sex provision. And that's setting aside women who will self exclude because of the loss of privacy, dignity, relaxation and comfort. All of which are kind of the point of going to a Turkish bath in the first place.

I've completed the survey. I go occasionally to the female only sessions but would not really want to go to a mixed session.

They did indeed scrap male only sessions in 2011 due to reports of "inappropriate behaviour" but reinstated them in 2016.
www.strayfm.com/news/local-news/2071651/male-only-sessions-to-return-at-turkish-baths/

Maybe it's the male only sessions causing the problem but they can't get rid of them and keep the female only sessions without a fuss?

I've filled it in even though I'm nowhere near. Can't stand this shit.

I would never book a mixed session. There are just too many opportunities for men to commit those barely noticeable (to other men) acts of sexual aggression for me to feel comfortable. I have filled out the survey. Thanks.

'Invasive' - not 'inclusive'. Predictive text ...